1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to data processing systems; in particular data processing systems using object-oriented computer programs to access managed data.
2. Description of Related Art
Large, modern business organizations are in a constant state of flux. The makeup of the business organization changes with every merger, acquisition, and divestiture. Related data assets come and go accordingly. The rapid pace of change represents a difficulty in keeping enterprise computer applications in synchronization with the changing set of disparate data sources with which they may be forced to contend.
Modern business enterprises face another challenge in matching their computer applications to their data assets. The majority of data assets are maintained using traditional data management systems and techniques. Some reasons for this are the huge investment made in building and maintaining the existing assets, the proven reliability of the existing systems, and the cost of migrating to more modern systems. Object oriented databases are on the horizon, moving from the laboratory to the field, but have yet to make serious inroads to widespread commercial use. But while structured data management systems have lagged in adopting an object-oriented design paradigm, commercial application software designs have fully embraced it. Use of object-oriented programming languages, such as C++ and Java proliferates. Thus, modern business organizations face a schism between the design paradigm underlying their application software and the design paradigm managing the data on which the software is to operate.
Attempts have been made to bridge the gap between legacy data management systems and object oriented programs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,371 (Henninger), for instance, discloses method and apparatus for automatic generation of object-oriented source code for mapping relational data to objects. The invention of Henninger can greatly speed the work of a programmer by automatically generating source code that supports a fixed correspondence between object classes of the source code and the data fields managed by a traditional structured database system. The resultant source code is combined with other source code created by the programmer and compiled into an executable computer program. Changes at the structured database can, however, necessitate regeneration of the object class source code and recompilation of every program in which it is incorporated. This threatens a software maintenance burden to the dynamic business organization. Consequently, there is a need in the art to bridge the gap between the multiple, disparate, and ever-changing data sources of a business and its object-oriented application software, while minimizing the impact of, and maximizing the flexibility in responding to, changes in the data source makeup.